CBS orders ‘Hilda! (In Lights!)’ pilot about a Broadway-bound 70-year-old

CBS has ordered a pilot for Hilda! (In Lights!), a single-camera comedy about a 70-year-old Nebraskan who leaves for the big city with Broadway on her mind and no experience to her name.

The project is being considered for the 2027-28 television season, according to Deadline and Variety. It has received a pilot order, not a full series greenlight.

What is CBS’ ‘Hilda! (In Lights!)’ about?

The comedy follows Hilda, a small-town optimist who moves to New York to pursue her longtime hope of starring on Broadway. The show’s official description says she is 70 and from Nebraska, with “absolutely no experience.”

Abbey Caldwell, whose credits include Laid, is writing and executive producing the pilot. CBS Studios is producing, while Will Graham, Max Linsky and Tonia Davis of Invitation Media are also executive producers, the trade reports said.

The order advances a project that had already been in the works at CBS. In April, the network put the comedy into development and ordered additional scripts, according to Deadline and TheWrap.

Is ‘Hilda! (In Lights!)’ coming to CBS?

There is no confirmed series order or release date. CBS has not announced a cast, a filming schedule or when viewers could see the pilot.

That leaves Hilda! (In Lights!) at the pilot stage of CBS’ 2027-28 development plans. Any move from pilot to a regular CBS series has yet to be announced.

The show joins other projects CBS has kept active for that development cycle, including the forensic drama I Know Who You Are and the Matt LeBlanc cop drama Flint, Deadline reported.

This story draws on original reporting from Variety.